February 11, 2010

Online Dating Site Aims to Aid Lovestruck Cornellians

Ready to spend another Valentine’s Day at Club Uris? GoodCrush — a matchmaking website made especially for college students — aims to make bookish students reconsider their plans.

With February 14 just around the corner, Jeff Katz ’10, senior class president and Sun sex columnist, partnered with the other Class Councils to open the Cornell version of GoodCrush last Tuesday.

“I brought the idea to each of the class presidents who, in turn, presented the idea to their respective class councils,” Katz said. “Everyone seemed to like [it] and we all jumped on board to do it across all grades.”

The site, which can be accessed through cornell.goodcrush.com, asks its users to log in using their CMail address and then to list up to five “crushes” using their university e-mail addresses. Only if the crushes reciprocate will their identities be revealed to each other. Otherwise, the “crushing” remains a completely anonymous endeavor.

The origins of GoodCrush can be traced back to 2007, when Josh Weinstein, Princeton ’09, then vice president of the undergraduate student government, launched an experimental website called CrushFinder. Within 24 hours, 30 percent of Princeton’s student body had signed up, making it “clear that there was a need to help spread the love and connect student bodies at schools around the country,” according to Weinstein.

More than 20 universities — including every Ivy League institution — now have their own GoodCrush pages. At least 1,000 Cornellians are already using the system, a number that places Cornell as the third “most crushed” school.

Katz hopes that this new website will “spice up” the dating scene on the Hill.

“It feels pretty good, too, to look at your inbox and know someone has a crush on you even if you don’t know who it is, so at the very least it’s a confidence booster,” he said.

Odis Ponce ’13 dismissed GoodCrush as a prank when she first received the e-mail from her Class Council inviting her to use the site.

“I think it’s a good idea, [even though] I don’t think there’s many people using it,” she said.

Weinstein and Katz hope that GoodCrush will help bring together students who lack the confidence to approach their crushes, broadening their social horizons.

“If you start your day knowing someone has a crush on you, maybe you’ll have the confidence to go out into the Ithaca cold and make some moves on your crushes,” Katz said.

Ready to spend another Valentine’s Day at Club Uris? GoodCrush — a matchmaking website made especially for college students — aims to make bookish students reconsider their plans.

With February 14 just around the corner, Jeff Katz ’10, senior class president and Sun sex columnist, partnered with the other Class Councils to open the Cornell version of GoodCrush last Tuesday.

“I brought the idea to each of the class presidents who, in turn, presented the idea to their respective class councils,” Katz said. “Everyone seemed to like [it] and we all jumped on board to do it across all grades.”

The site, which can be accessed through cornell.goodcrush.com, asks its users to log in using their CMail address and then to list up to five “crushes” using their university e-mail addresses. Only if the crushes reciprocate will their identities be revealed to each other. Otherwise, the “crushing” remains a completely anonymous endeavor.

The origins of GoodCrush can be traced back to 2007, when Josh Weinstein, Princeton ’09, then vice president of the undergraduate student government, launched an experimental website called CrushFinder. Within 24 hours, 30 percent of Princeton’s student body had signed up, making it “clear that there was a need to help spread the love and connect student bodies at schools around the country,” according to Weinstein.

More than 20 universities — including every Ivy League institution — now have their own GoodCrush pages. At least 1,000 Cornellians are already using the system, a number that places Cornell as the third “most crushed” school.

Katz hopes that this new website will “spice up” the dating scene on the Hill.

“It feels pretty good, too, to look at your inbox and know someone has a crush on you even if you don’t know who it is, so at the very least it’s a confidence booster,” he said.

Odis Ponce ’13 dismissed GoodCrush as a prank when she first received the e-mail from her Class Council inviting her to use the site.

“I think it’s a good idea, [even though] I don’t think there’s many people using it,” she said.

Weinstein and Katz hope that GoodCrush will help bring together students who lack the confidence to approach their crushes, broadening their social horizons.

“If you start your day knowing someone has a crush on you, maybe you’ll have the confidence to go out into the Ithaca cold and make some moves on your crushes,” Katz said.

Related

The men’s basketball team rebounded from its shocking loss at Penn in commanding fashion, downing then-undefeated Princeton, 48-45, at Jadwin Gym on Saturday night. With the win, Cornell improves to 21-4 on the season, but more importantly, 7-1 in Ivy League play –– putting it at the top of the Ancient Eight standings once again.

The race for the Ivy League crown arguably just got a whole lot more interesting, as the No. 22 men’s basketball team fell, 79-64, to Penn on Friday night at the Palestra, in what can only be described as a shocking upset.